FOOTPRINT+ podcasts

Developers and design consultants have made significant progress on reducing the carbon emissions resulting from the shell and core of buildings and from their operational carbon emissions. IN magazine has moved their focus strongly towards this issue as occupiers are now starting to question the climate impact of interior fitout in buildings they are considering leasing.

Carbon-literate developers are finding that up to 35% of the whole life carbon of a building is in the turnover of these cutouts. What progress has been made in challenging the dominance of Cat A fitout?

Education could be a key enabler of transitioning to a net zero and circular economy. We discuss the opportunities and risks the education sector presents both in the UK and Internationally.

This includes a look at how investing £1.8billion in our schools and college construction, and new skills programmes could help us prepare for a changing world.  

What is the current state of play of timber in construction? 

Steelmaking has been in a transitionary phase for over thirty years, moving from higher impact primary steelmaking to lower impact secondary steelmaking using scrap. Armed with some elementary knowledge of manufacturing processes and good intelligence of the local supply chain it’s possible to deliver low impact steel framed buildings today that can meet demanding embodied carbon targets.

But the key to a carbon neutral steel industry is in decarbonizing primary steelmaking which accounts for approximately 70% of global manufacture. In the last 12 months ArcelorMittal has taken significant steps to meet its target of a global carbon emissions intensity reduction of 25% by 2030 and 35% in Europe.

Over €10 billion of investment is required to achieve that interim goal and transform the way that we make primary steel, and over half has already been committed to projects. A first of its kind CCU plant has been inaugurated in Europe,  ground has been broken on a transformative new hydrogen ready steel plant, strategic acquisitions have been made and partnerships have been formed with the industrial players that can provide the renewable power infrastructure to enable the transition to low carbon steelmaking. But, importantly, it’s also possible to improve the carbon offer of secondary steelmaking too.

How do developers and designers choose partners that are really engaged with and can deliver on the Paris agreement, and move the steel industry and the construction sector forward together toward that common goal?

With Marion Charlier, PhD, Sustainability Lead and Walter Swann, Construction Engineer, ArcelorMittal

Concrete is an essential material yet responsible for around 7% of global emissions. UK supply chains have now set out their plans to decarbonise concrete, but how do these plans compare with the IPCC’s 1.5°-aligned decarbonisation trajectory? What should clients and designers do today to use concrete most efficiently?

Today, the redevelopment of existing buildings is experiencing an enormous shift in attitude. Challenging the demolish and new build approach of the recent past, this is a pivotal moment where innovation is championed across the industry. 

This session will explore the analysis of a hypothetical existing, 50-year-old, 25-storey-high commercial building to demonstrate the viability of varying degrees of interventions, through which the asset's life can be extended. Many buildings exist in every city, where building parts like services, facades and fit-outs have reached their service life, letting the asset stand at a crossroads for its next ‘life’. Hear from the architect, cost consultant, developer and planner to explore the diverse priorities and resultant value of existing assets.